The great boxing coach Angelo Dundee died this week age 90. He was the man who coached a young Cassius Clay to an Olympic Gold Medal and then coached him all through his professional career. And what a career that was. In fact, Muhammad Ali was voted Sportsman of the Century.

Ali credited Angelo Dundee as the man who made him.

One particular turning point was when Ali fought Sonny Liston for the first time. Ali wanted to throw in the towel after several rounds as his eyes were stinging. Dundee told him that he was on the verge of greatness and needed to go into the ring for one more round. And the rest is history.

But this is a legal blog, what’s this got to do with the law?

It’s not about the law, it’s about coaching and how coaching can help business and more specifically, the business of running a law firm.

Coaching is not the best opening line in the world when it comes to talking to lawyers about improving their business model, so the short story about Angelo Dundee serves as an opener to show how valuable a good coach can be.

Note that I said “a good coach” and not just a coach; there is a BIG difference in the quality of business coaching. (There is also a massive difference in the quality of life coaches…but let’s not go there!)

In public, no one wants to buy business coaching…especially not lawyers. Why would they…they know everything so they don’t need a coach.

That is until it is explained what business coaching can achieve for a law firm. And the answer is, more time, more money and less stress.

Law firms know that they need to change and that they need to start implementing systems and altering the way they do business with their customers. They know that if they keep on doing what they’ve always done, their income (which is dropping) will continue to drop and their profit (which is dropping) will continue to drop.

They know….but they suffer from FTI disease. A Failure to Implement.

A lot of firms that I talk to have understood that they need to change, they’ve even had a committee approve it. It might be on their “To Do” list. Someone may have even been tasked to see it through, but there is still inertia. And that’s where they need someone like a coach.

Angelo Dundee didn’t get into the ring and fight. He had done it in the past and he knew not only what worked, but the best time to use the things that work.

So if you, or anyone you work for, could do with more money, more time and less stress, then it wouldn’t be a bad idea to look at business coaching.

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After many years paying lawyers,I became one in 2005 Just in time for the largest upheaval in the law since records began. Brilliant. Exiting times ahead.

Disclaimer. The thoughts, ideas and comments on this Blawg ("Blawg - a legal Blog) are my own and not to be confused (unless otherwise stated) with anyone else and certainly not of anyone in the Firm where I used to work and they are not the views of the firm where I used to work.